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6 Reasons to Eat the Same Thing Every Day

I admit it. I’m lazy in the kitchen. The idea of cooking something new every night for only one or two people seems like too much effort. Sure, if I’m cooking for a big dinner party I’ll be motivated to cook up a storm, but for just me or me and my husband, the inspiration level isn’t so high. As a result, we tend to eat the same thing five days a week or so. This may sound boring, but the more we do this, the more I like it. Here’s why:

It Makes Shopping Easier and More Cost Predictable: Eating the same foods every week allows you to budget properly for groceries and in the end, makes shopping faster and easier. Every Sunday when I food shop, it takes about 20 minutes, because at this point, it has become very systematic. I know what I want and I don’t even need to make a list. I get in and get out and always spend within $5 – $10 from week to week.

It Makes Weight Loss or Maintenance a Lot Easier: Whether you want to maintain weight or lose weight, eating consistently the same things can make reaching your goals a lot easier. Finding healthy foods that you enjoy and entering them into tools like FitDay.com can help you learn what will give you an optimal breakdown of calories, Fat, Protein, Carbs, fiber, and vitamins and minerals. This gives you a successful eating ‘formula’, which means you will never have to count calories or nutritional recommended daily allowances again. You know what works and repeating the formula most days will help you to reach your goal without a lot of time and thought.

Knowing Your Body: Eating the same foods helps you understand your body and how it reacts to foods. When you eat new or atypical foods, you will be able to hone in on what foods make you feel too full, gassy, not full enough, etc. Further, it will also give you insights into how your body reacts to chemicals, preservatives and spices. If you eat healthy most of the time, your body will expect that, and so, if you throw it a curve ball, it will let you know whether or not it likes it. For instance, if you don’t usually have caffeine or drinks with a lot of sugar, you may find that when you do, you get jitters. I know personally, if on a rare occasion I eat fried foods, my body will feel like crap within an hour and sometimes into the next day.

It Makes Cooking a Lot Easier: I use whole foods or ingredients and don’t try to get overly complicated. Breakfast usually consists of a half or a whole grapefruit, a whey protein shake and a cup of coffee. Lunch always includes a huge salad and some sort of protein, usually an egg-white omelet. On Sunday nights, I tend to whip up a big batch of baked or grilled chicken (changing up the spices or sauces from week to week), which I can reheat the rest of the week and pair off with another big salad for dinner. Lastly, I’ll have a couple of well-balanced snacks (nutrition bars or a Greek yogurt parfait) in between meals. All of this is pretty much routine and as a result, it is very easy and saves time.

Greater Appreciation for Off-Days: Having a routine for meals makes dining out or those times you do get creative in the kitchen all the more meaningful. New dishes and flavors have much more significance and tend to taste extra scrumptious.

Healthy Behavior on Off-Days: If you find the optimal ‘formula’ from #1 above, you will have a good baseline for when you don’t eat the same foods. You will become very accustomed to how much of what kinds of foods you need and will be able to use that as a guide for the days you digress.

Trust me, I’m not implying that this is the only way to eat, but it sure can simplify things and make navigating healthy eating a lot easier. If you have kids, this way of eating, I understand, is challenging. But remember, spices, seasonings and sauces can make a simple food like chicken, seem quite different from night to night.

Do you eat the same foods often? Have you found any other benefits to doing so?

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From the top, I am a single guy. I have been eating this way for several years, but I have never thought of the health benefits of predictable eating. Cheaper – yes, easier – yes, healthier – hmmm??? Yes, I do believe so. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, also for giving me a defense to the criticism I receive for my dietary choice.

Flo

I am amazed at the weekly amount you spend. Where I live my supermarket strawberries alone cost 4.50$ for a 1 lb pack ! 1 yogurt costs 0.80$. My weekly food budget is around 90$ for 2 adults and 1 child. And I make my bread, my cakes and cook every day.

Flo

Ooops I think I misinterpreted ….. the 5-10$ is the amount that varies from one week to another on your budget, right ?

Thank you for this post! I regularly eat the same types of food everyday and normally I feel guilty about it – like I should be switching things up everyday. But the truth is I love oats and I just don’t feel like myself if I don’t start my day with a piping hot bowl (even in the heat of summer). So thank you! I’ll enjoy my oats tomorrow without a hint of guilt.

nicole

I also eat the same thing everyday except for dinners. My only concern is that I am maybe lacking something. For breakfast I eat wholegrain oatmeal with 1tbsp of flaxseed and 1 cup of blueberries, for lunch, half a can of tuna with half an avacado and 1 tbsp of olive oil on a whole grain wrap. Morning snack, 2 cups of raw vegetables with hummus, afternoon snack 0% greek yogurt with 1 cup blueberries and 1/3 cup bran flakes.

Nancy

I do the very same thing. But what I wonder is, can you become desensitized, or develop an allergy/sensitivity to the foods you eat every day. I am currently being treated for candida and I used to eat a lot of the foods that I can’t eat now (wheat, dairy, eggs, yeast). Anyone have any thoughts? I would like to hear them!

Brett

Hi Nancy,
That is strange. I suppose id you have too much yeast in your diet, you can develop candida, but I never heard about people developing allergies to foods they eat a lot. Have you spoken to an integrative medical practitioner? They might be the most apt to understand why you are developing these allergies…